Broadneck High Gets New Rain Garden

With a signature program like “Environmental Literacy,” was kind of lacking in the native landscaping department, but thanks to senior Alli LaPierre and a group of hardworking volunteers, students and staff will be treated to a lovely new rain garden this school year.

“I had been brainstorming with the environmental teachers here at the school about how to go about doing something like this,” said LaPierre, daughter of John and Claudia Breeden, who will earn her Girl Scout Gold Award for the project. “The process took a while because I had to find the right people for approval first and then I had to submit the project specifications for a final ok.”

The next step was, La Pierre calls, the “fun stuff.”

“I went around to local businesses like and who helped me determine what would work best in the garden,” explained LaPierre who enlisted the help of local Watershed Stewards Nancy Curran, Brad Knopf, and John Dawson.

Suzanne Etgen of the school system’s assisted with the project and helped LaPierre with all of the contacts she needed to make before the project could be completed.

The planting officially began in late July, and LaPierre had the help of local students Gabrielle Puglisi, Cody Petenbrink, Jacob Lettie, Alexander Doan, Adante Santos, and Broadneck alum Connor McLean.

Watershed Steward Nancy Curran donated some native Maryland plants from her garden. Matt Ciminellli from Ciminelli’s Landscape came to install the biolog (a flexible log made out of organic material used to keep sediment from going into the storm drain in the center of the garden until the plants have established themselves). Stuart Macey (Broadneck Alumni) from Riversedge Landscape came to excavate the site. Macy, who donated time and labor to the project, ended up hauling away around six tons of soil from the site.

LaPierre said the staff at the school will use the garden as a learning tool for the Environmental Science, Botany, and several other science classes. The garden will later be a part of the school’s “living classroom” that is set to be installed in a nearby portable building.

The official dedication of the garden will come after school starts.